Methods of theft prevention or mitigation

ABSTRACT

In system and methods for theft prevention or mitigation, driver-related data associated with one or more authorized drivers of an insured vehicle may be collected over time. The authorized drivers and the insured vehicle may be covered by an insurance policy issued by an insurance provider. Based upon the collected driver-related data, a database associated with the authorized drivers may be built. Current driver-related data associated with an individual currently driving, attempting to start, or sitting in a seat of the insured vehicle may be collected. It may be determined, using both the database and the current driver-related data, that the individual is not among the authorized drivers. A disablement of an operation of the insured vehicle may be caused, and/or the individual may be caused to be prevented from starting or otherwise operating the insured vehicle, to facilitate preventing or mitigating theft of the insured vehicle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/798,769 (filed Jul. 14, 2015), which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/027,021 (filed Jul. 21, 2014); U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/040,735 (filed Aug. 22, 2014); U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/145,022 (filed Apr. 9, 2015); U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/145,024 (filed Apr. 9, 2015); U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/145,027 (filed Apr. 9, 2015); U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/145,028 (filed Apr. 9, 2015); U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/145,029 (filed Apr. 9, 2015); U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/145,032 (filed Apr. 9, 2015); U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/145,033 (filed Apr. 9, 2015); U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/145,145 (filed Apr. 9, 2015); U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/145,228 (filed Apr. 9, 2015); U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/145,232 (filed Apr. 9, 2015); and U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/145,234 (filed Apr. 9, 2015). Theentirety of each of the foregoing applications is incorporated byreference herein.

Additionally, the present application is related to co-pending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/798,741 (filed Jul. 14, 2015); co-pendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/798,750 (filed Jul. 14, 2015);co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/798,757 (filed Jul. 14,2015); co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/798,763 (filedJul. 14, 2015); co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/798,609(filed Jul. 14, 2015); co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/798,615 (filed Jul. 14, 2015); co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/798,626 (filed Jul. 14, 2015); co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/798,633 (filed Jul. 14, 2015); co-pending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/798,745 (filed Jul. 14, 2015); andco-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/798,770 (filed Jul. 14,2015). The entire contents of these related applications are herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties.

FIELD

The present embodiments relate generally to telematics data and/orinsurance policies. More particularly, the present embodiments relate toperforming certain actions based upon telematics and/or other data.

BACKGROUND

Each year, a large number of insurance claims are filed with respect tovehicles that are stolen and, even if recovered, subjected tosignificant damage. While some conventional vehicle theft preventionsystems/products, such as alarm systems or wheel locks, may deter somethieves, more sophisticated individuals may be able to bypass suchsecurity measures. Moreover, while some conventional systems are capableof tracking stolen vehicles, these systems suffer in that it may not berecognized that the vehicle has been stolen (and that tracking isneeded) until a large amount of time has passed, and/or the systems mayrely on hardware (e.g., a keychain fob) that could be itself be stolen.

The present embodiments may overcome these and/or other deficiencies.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present embodiments disclose systems and methods that may relate tothe intersection of telematics and insurance. In some embodiments, forexample, telematics and/or other data may be collected and used todetermine driver-related data for one or more drivers who are coveredunder an insurance policy (e.g., the policy owner and family members).The data may be gathered from one or more sources, such as mobiledevices (e.g., smart phones, smart glasses, smart watches, smartwearable devices, smart contact lenses, and/or other devices capable ofwireless communication); smart vehicles; smart vehicle or smart homemounted sensors; third party sensors or sources of data (e.g., othervehicles, public transportation systems, government entities, and/or theInternet); and/or other sources of information. The data may beindicative of various identifying characteristics associated with thecovered driver(s) (e.g., appearance, weight, etc.), and/or of variousbehaviors of the covered driver(s) (e.g., patterns of brake usage,etc.), for example. The insurance provider may build a database storingthe authorized driver characteristics and/or behaviors.

Additional telematics and/or other data may be gathered when anindividual attempts to start driving (or is driving, or is in thedriver's seat of, etc.) the insured vehicle. Characteristics and/orbehaviors indicated by this additional data (e.g., appearance, weight,etc.) may be compared to like characteristics and/or behaviors of theauthorized drivers and, if there is no match, it may be determined thata theft of the insured vehicle is likely. The insured vehicle may thenbe remotely disabled, and/or a communication may be sent to one or moreof the authorized drivers (and/or to emergency service providers, suchas a police department), for example.

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of vehicle theft preventionor mitigation may include (1) collecting, by one or more processors of(i) a vehicle controller or (ii) one or more remote servers associatedwith an insurance provider, driver-related data over time. Thedriver-related data may be associated with one or more authorizeddrivers of an insured vehicle, and/or the authorized drivers and theinsured vehicle may be covered by an insurance policy issued by theinsurance provider. The method may also include (2) building, by the oneor more processors, and based upon the collected driver-related data, adatabase associated with the authorized drivers covered by the insurancepolicy; (3) collecting, by the one or more processors, currentdriver-related data associated with an individual currently driving,attempting to start, or sitting in a seat of the insured vehicle; (4)determining, by the one or more processors and using both the databaseand the current driver-related data, that the individual currentlydriving, attempting to start, or sitting in a seat of the insuredvehicle is not among the authorized drivers covered by the insurancepolicy; and/or (5) causing, by the one or more processors and based upondetermining that the individual is not among the authorized drivers, oneor both of (i) a disablement of an operation of the insured vehicle, and(ii) the individual to be prevented from starting or otherwise operatingthe insured vehicle, to facilitate preventing or mitigating theft of theinsured vehicle. The method may include additional, fewer, or alternateactions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

In another aspect, a system for vehicle theft prevention or mitigationmay include one or more processors and one or more memories. The one ormore memories store instructions that, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, may cause the one or more processors to (1) collectdriver-related data over time. The driver-related data may be associatedwith one or more authorized drivers of an insured vehicle, and/or theauthorized drivers and the insured vehicle may be covered by aninsurance policy issued by an insurance provider. The instructions mayalso cause the one or more processors to (2) based upon the collecteddriver-related data, build a database associated with the authorizeddrivers covered by the insurance policy; (3) collect currentdriver-related data associated with an individual currently driving,attempting to start, or sitting in a seat of the insured vehicle; (4)determine, using both the database and the current driver-related data,whether the individual currently driving, attempting to start, orsitting in a seat of the insured vehicle is among the authorized driverscovered by the insurance policy; and/or (5) when determining that theindividual is not among the authorized drivers covered by the insurancepolicy, cause one or both of (i) a disablement of an operation of theinsured vehicle, and (ii) the individual to be prevented from startingor otherwise operating the insured vehicle, in order to facilitatepreventing or mitigating theft of the insured vehicle. The system mayinclude additional, less, or alternate functionality, including thatdiscussed elsewhere herein.

Advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe following description of the preferred embodiments which have beenshown and described by way of illustration. As will be realized, thepresent embodiments may be capable of other and different embodiments,and their details are capable of modification in various respects.Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded asillustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

There are shown in the drawings arrangements which are presentlydiscussed. It is understood, however, that the present embodiments arenot limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary computer system on which the techniquesdescribed herein may be implemented, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary mobile device or smart vehiclecontroller that may collect, receive, generate and/or send telematicsand/or other data for purposes of the techniques described herein,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary computer-implemented method of lossmitigation associated with an insured event, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary computer-implemented method of providingintelligent routing to reduce risk and/or the likelihood of an insuredevent occurring, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary computer-implemented method of theftprevention and/or mitigation, according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present embodiments may relate to, inter alia, collecting data,including telematics and/or other data, and analyzing the data (e.g., byan insurance provider server or processor) to provide insurance-relatedbenefits to insured individuals, and/or to apply the insurance-relatedbenefits to insurance policies or premiums of insured individuals. Forexample, the insurance-related benefits may include risk or lossmitigation and/or prevention, and/or may include theft protection,mitigation, and/or avoidance. The insurance-related benefits may also,or instead, include other products and/or services, such as intelligentvehicle routing in real-time, for example. The present embodiments mayprevent losses/injury/damage to persons and/or property, and/or rewardan insured for exhibiting risk-averse behavior (e.g., in the form oflower insurance premiums or rates, or additional insurance discounts,points, and/or rewards).

I. Exemplary Telematics Data System

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary telematics system 1on which the exemplary methods described herein may be implemented. Thehigh-level architecture includes both hardware and softwareapplications, as well as various data communications channels forcommunicating data between the various hardware and software components.The telematics system 1 may be roughly divided into front-end components2 and back-end components 4.

The front-end components 2 may obtain information regarding a vehicle 8(e.g., a car, truck, motorcycle, etc.) and/or the surroundingenvironment. Information regarding the surrounding environment may beobtained by one or more other vehicles 6, public transportation systemcomponents 22 (e.g., a train, a bus, a trolley, a ferry, etc.),infrastructure components 26 (e.g., a bridge, a stoplight, a tunnel, arail crossing, etc.), smart homes 28 having smart home controllers 29,and/or other components communicatively connected to a network 30.Information regarding the vehicle 8 may be obtained by a mobile device10 (e.g., a smart phone, a tablet computer, a special purpose computingdevice, etc.) and/or a smart vehicle controller 14 (e.g., an on-boardcomputer, a vehicle diagnostic system, a vehicle control system orsub-system, etc.), which may be communicatively connected to each otherand/or the network 30.

In some embodiments, telematics data may be generated by and/or receivedfrom sensors 20 associated with the vehicle 8. Such telematics data fromthe sensors 20 may be received by the mobile device 10 and/or the smartvehicle controller 14, in some embodiments. Other, external sensors 24(e.g., sensors associated with one or more other vehicles 6, publictransportation system components 22, infrastructure components 26,and/or smart homes 28) may provide further data regarding the vehicle 8and/or its environment, in some embodiments. For example, the externalsensors 24 may obtain information pertaining to other transportationcomponents or systems within the environment of the vehicle 8, and/orinformation pertaining to other aspect so of that environment. Thesensors 20 and the external sensors 24 are described further below,according to some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the mobile device 10 and/or the smart vehiclecontroller 14 may process the sensor data from sensors 20, and/or otherof the front-end components 2 may process the sensor data from externalsensors 24. The processed data (and/or information derived therefrom)may then be communicated to the back-end components 4 via the network30. In other embodiments, the front-end components 2 may communicate theraw sensor data from sensors 20 and/or external sensors 24, and/or othertelematics data, to the back-end components 4 for processing. Inthin-client embodiments, for example, the mobile device 10 and/or thesmart vehicle controller 14 may act as a pass-through communication nodefor communication with the back-end components 4, with minimal or noprocessing performed by the mobile device 10 and/or the smart vehiclecontroller 14. In other embodiments, the mobile device 10 and/or thesmart vehicle controller 14 may perform substantial processing ofreceived sensor, telematics, or other data. Summary information,processed data, and/or unprocessed data may be communicated to theback-end components 4 via the network 30.

The mobile device 10 may be a general-use personal computer, cellularphone, smart phone, tablet computer, or a dedicated vehicle usemonitoring device. In some embodiments, the mobile device 10 may includea wearable device such as a smart watch, smart glasses, wearable smarttechnology, or a pager. Although only one mobile device 10 isillustrated, it should be understood that a plurality of mobile devicesmay be used in some embodiments. The smart vehicle controller 14 may bea general-use on-board computer capable of performing many functionsrelating to vehicle operation, an on-board computer system orsub-system, or a dedicated computer for monitoring vehicle operationand/or generating telematics data. Further, the smart vehicle controller14 may be installed by the manufacturer of the vehicle 8 or as anaftermarket modification or addition to the vehicle 8. Either or both ofthe mobile device 10 and the smart vehicle controller 14 may communicatewith the network 30 over link 12 and link 18, respectively.Additionally, the mobile device 10 and smart vehicle controller 14 maycommunicate with one another directly over link 16. In some embodiments,the mobile device 10 and/or the smart vehicle controller 14 maycommunicate with other of the front-end components 2, such as thevehicles 6, public transit system components 22, infrastructurecomponents 26, and/or smart homes 28, either directly or indirectly(e.g., via the network 30).

The one or more sensors 20 referenced above may be removably or fixedlydisposed within (and/or on the exterior of) the vehicle 8, within themobile device 10, and/or within the smart vehicle controller 14, forexample. The sensors 20 may include any one or more of various differentsensor types, such as an ignition sensor, an odometer, a system clock, aspeedometer, a tachometer, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a compass, ageolocation unit (e.g., a GPS unit), a camera and/or video camera, adistance sensor (e.g., radar, LIDAR, etc.), and/or any other sensor orcomponent capable of generating or receiving data regarding the vehicle8 and/or the environment in which the vehicle 8 is located.

Some of the sensors 20 (e.g., radar, LIDAR, ultrasonic, infrared, orcamera units) may actively or passively scan the vehicle environment forobjects (e.g., other vehicles, buildings, pedestrians, etc.), trafficcontrol elements (e.g., lane markings, signs, signals, etc.), externalconditions (e.g., weather conditions, traffic conditions, roadconditions, etc.), and/or other physical characteristics of theenvironment. Other sensors of sensors 20 (e.g., GPS, accelerometer, ortachometer units) may provide operational and/or other data fordetermining the location and/or movement of the vehicle 8. Still othersensors of sensors 20 may be directed to the interior or passengercompartment of the vehicle 8, such as cameras, microphones, pressuresensors, thermometers, or similar sensors to monitor the vehicleoperator and/or passengers within the vehicle 8.

The external sensors 24 may be disposed on or within other devices orcomponents within the vehicle's environment (e.g., other vehicles 6,infrastructure components 26, etc.), and may include any of the types ofsensors listed above. For example, the external sensors 24 may includesensors that are the same as or similar to sensors 20, but disposed onor within some of the vehicles 6 rather than the vehicle 8.

To send and receive information, each of the sensors 20 and/or externalsensors 24 may include a transmitter and/or a receiver designed tooperate according to predetermined specifications, such as the dedicatedshort-range communication (DSRC) channel, wireless telephony, Wi-Fi, orother existing or later-developed communications protocols. As usedherein, the terms “sensor” or “sensors” may refer to the sensors 20and/or external sensors 24.

The other vehicles 6, public transportation system components 22,infrastructure components 26, and/or smart homes 28 may be referred toherein as “external” data sources. The other vehicles 6 may include anyother vehicles, including smart vehicles, vehicles withtelematics-capable mobile devices, autonomous vehicles, and/or othervehicles communicatively connected to the network 30 via links 32.

The public transportation system components 22 may include bus, train,ferry, ship, airline, and/or other public transportation systemcomponents. Such components may include vehicles, tracks, switches,access points (e.g., turnstiles, entry gates, ticket counters, etc.),and/or payment locations (e.g., ticket windows, fare card vendingmachines, electronic payment devices operated by conductors orpassengers, etc.), for example. The public transportation systemcomponents 22 may further be communicatively connected to the network 30via a link 34, in some embodiments.

The infrastructure components 26 may include smart infrastructure ordevices (e.g., sensors, transmitters, etc.) disposed within orcommunicatively connected to transportation or other infrastructure,such as roads, bridges, viaducts, terminals, stations, fueling stations,traffic control devices (e.g., traffic lights, toll booths, entry ramptraffic regulators, crossing gates, speed radar, cameras, etc.), bicycledocks, footpaths, or other infrastructure system components. In someembodiments, the infrastructure components 26 may be communicativelyconnected to the network 30 via a link (not shown in FIG. 1).

The smart homes 28 may include dwellings or other buildings thatgenerate or collect data regarding their condition, occupancy, proximityto a mobile device 10 or vehicle 8, and/or other information. The smarthomes 28 may include smart home controllers 29 that monitor the localenvironment of the smart home, which may include sensors (e.g., smokedetectors, radon detectors, door sensors, window sensors, motionsensors, cameras, etc.). In some embodiments, the smart home controller29 may include or be communicatively connected to a security systemcontroller for monitoring access and activity within the environment.The smart home 28 may further be communicatively connected to thenetwork 30 via a link 36, in some embodiments.

The external data sources may collect data regarding the vehicle 8, avehicle operator, a user of an insurance program, and/or an insured ofan insurance policy. Additionally, or alternatively, the other vehicles6, the public transportation system components 22, the infrastructurecomponents 26, and/or the smart homes 28 may collect such data, andprovide that data to the mobile device 10 and/or the smart vehiclecontroller 14 via links not shown in FIG. 1.

In some embodiments, the front-end components 2 communicate with theback-end components 4 via the network 30. The network 30 may include aproprietary network, a secure public internet, a virtual private networkand/or one or more other types of networks, such as dedicated accesslines, plain ordinary telephone lines, satellite links, cellular datanetworks, or combinations thereof. In embodiments where the network 30comprises the Internet, data communications may take place over thenetwork 30 via an Internet communication protocol.

The back-end components 4 may use a remote server 40 to receive datafrom the front-end components 2, determine characteristics of vehicleuse, determine risk levels, modify insurance policies, and/or performother processing functions in accordance with any of the methodsdescribed herein. In some embodiments, the server 40 may be associatedwith an insurance provider, either directly or indirectly. The server 40may include one or more computer processors adapted and configured toexecute various software applications and components of the telematicssystem 1.

The server 40 may further include a database 46, which may be adapted tostore data related to the operation of the vehicle 8 and/or otherinformation. As used herein, the term “database” may refer to a singledatabase or other structured data storage, or to a collection of two ormore different databases or structured data storage components.Additionally, the server 40 may be communicatively coupled via thenetwork 30 to one or more data sources, which may include an accidentdatabase 42 and/or a third party database 44. The accident database 42and/or third party database 44 may be communicatively connected to thenetwork via a communication link 38. The accident database 42 and/or thethird party database 44 may be operated or maintained by third parties,such as commercial vendors, governmental entities, industryassociations, nonprofit organizations, or others.

The data stored in the database 46 might include, for example, dates andtimes of vehicle use, duration of vehicle use, speed of the vehicle 8,RPM or other tachometer readings of the vehicle 8, lateral andlongitudinal acceleration of the vehicle 8, incidents or near-collisionsof the vehicle 8, communications between the vehicle 8 and externalsources (e.g., other vehicles 6, public transportation system components22, infrastructure components 26, smart homes 28, and/or externalinformation sources communicating through the network 30), environmentalconditions of vehicle operation (e.g., weather, traffic, road condition,etc.), errors or failures of vehicle features, and/or other datarelating to use of the vehicle 8 and/or the vehicle operator. Prior tostorage in the database 46, some of the data may have been uploaded tothe server 40 via the network 30 from the mobile device 10 and/or thesmart vehicle controller 14. Additionally, or alternatively, some of thedata may have been obtained from additional or external data sources viathe network 30. Additionally, or alternatively, some of the data mayhave been generated by the server 40. The server 40 may store data inthe database 46 and/or may access data stored in the database 46 whenexecuting various functions and tasks associated with the methodsdescribed herein.

The server 40 may include a controller 55 that is operatively connectedto the database 46 via a link 56. It should be noted that, while notshown in FIG. 1, one or more additional databases may be linked to thecontroller 55 in a known manner. For example, separate databases may beused for sensor data, vehicle insurance policy information, and vehicleuse information. The controller 55 may include a program memory 60, aprocessor 62 (which may be called a microcontroller or amicroprocessor), a random-access memory (RAM) 64, and an input/output(I/O) circuit 66, all of which may be interconnected via an address/databus 65. It should be appreciated that although only one microprocessor62 is shown, the controller 55 may include multiple microprocessors 62.Similarly, the memory of the controller 55 may include multiple RAMs 64and multiple program memories 60. Although the I/O circuit 66 is shownas a single block, it should be appreciated that the I/O circuit 66 mayinclude a number of different types of I/O circuits. The RAM 64 andprogram memories 60 may be implemented as semiconductor memories,magnetically readable memories, or optically readable memories, forexample. The controller 55 may also be operatively connected to thenetwork 30 via a link 35.

The server 40 may further include a number of software applicationsstored in a program memory 60. The various software applications on theserver 40 may include specific programs, routines, or scripts forperforming processing functions associated with the methods describedherein. Additionally, or alternatively, the various software applicationon the server 40 may include general-purpose software applications fordata processing, database management, data analysis, networkcommunication, web server operation, or other functions described hereinor typically performed by a server. The various software applicationsmay be executed on the same computer processor or on different computerprocessors. Additionally, or alternatively, the software applicationsmay interact with various hardware modules that may be installed withinor connected to the server 40. Such modules may implement part of all ofthe various exemplary methods discussed herein or other relatedembodiments.

In some embodiments, the server 40 may be a remote server associatedwith or operated by or on behalf of an insurance provider. The server 40may be configured to receive, collect, and/or analyze telematics and/orother data in accordance with any of the methods described herein. Theserver 40 may be configured for one-way or two-way wired or wirelesscommunication via the network 30 with a number of telematics and/orother data sources, including the accident database 42, the third partydatabase 44, the database 46 and/or the front-end components 2. Forexample, the server 40 may be in wireless communication with mobiledevice 10; insured smart vehicles 8; smart vehicles of other motorists6; smart homes 28; present or past accident database 42; third partydatabase 44 operated by one or more government entities and/or others;public transportation system components 22 and/or databases associatedtherewith; smart infrastructure components 26; and/or the Internet. Theserver 40 may be in wired or wireless communications with other sourcesof data, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

Although the telematics system 1 is shown in FIG. 1 to include onevehicle 8, one mobile device 10, one smart vehicle controller 14, oneother vehicle 6, one public transportation system component 22, oneinfrastructure component 26, one smart home 28, and one server 40, itshould be understood that different numbers of each may be utilized. Forexample, the system 1 may include a plurality of servers 40 and hundredsor thousands of mobile devices 10 and/or smart vehicle controllers 14,all of which may be interconnected via the network 30. Furthermore, thedatabase storage or processing performed by the server 40 may bedistributed among a plurality of servers in an arrangement known as“cloud computing.” This configuration may provide various advantages,such as enabling near real-time uploads and downloads of information aswell as periodic uploads and downloads of information. This may in turnsupport a thin-client embodiment of the mobile device 10 or smartvehicle controller 14 discussed herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary mobile device 10and/or smart vehicle controller 14. The mobile device 10 and/or smartvehicle controller 14 may include a processor 72, display 74, sensor 76,memory 78, power supply 80, wireless radio frequency transceiver 82,clock 84, microphone and/or speaker 86, and/or camera or video camera88. In other embodiments, the mobile device and/or smart vehiclecontroller may include additional, fewer, and/or alternate components.

The sensor 76 may be able to record audio or visual information. If FIG.2 corresponds to the mobile device 10, for example, the sensor 76 may bea camera integrated within the mobile device 10. The sensor 76 mayalternatively be configured to sense speed, acceleration, directional,fluid, water, moisture, temperature, fire, smoke, wind, rain, snow,hail, motion, and/or other type of condition or parameter, and/or mayinclude a gyro, compass, accelerometer, or any other type of sensordescribed herein (e.g., any of the sensors 20 described above inconnection with FIG. 1). Generally, the sensor 76 may be any type ofsensor that is currently existing or hereafter developed and is capableof providing information regarding the vehicle 8, the environment of thevehicle 8, and/or a person.

The memory 78 may include software applications that control the mobiledevice 10 and/or smart vehicle controller 14, and/or control the display74 configured for accepting user input. The memory 78 may includeinstructions for controlling or directing the operation of vehicleequipment that may prevent, detect, and/or mitigate vehicle damage. Thememory 78 may further include instructions for controlling a wireless orwired network of a smart vehicle, and/or interacting with mobile device10 and remote server 40 (e.g., via the network 30).

The power supply 80 may be a battery or dedicated energy generator thatpowers the mobile device 10 and/or smart vehicle controller 14. Thepower supply 80 may harvest energy from the vehicle environment and bepartially or completely energy self-sufficient, for example.

The transceiver 82 may be configured for wireless communication withsensors 20 located about the vehicle 8, other vehicles 6, other mobiledevices similar to mobile device 10, and/or other smart vehiclecontrollers similar to smart vehicle controller 14. Additionally, oralternatively, the transceiver 82 may be configured for wirelesscommunication with the server 40, which may be remotely located at aninsurance provider location.

The clock 84 may be used to time-stamp the date and time thatinformation is gathered or sensed by various sensors. For example, theclock 84 may record the time and date that photographs are taken by thecamera 88, video is captured by the camera 88, and/or other data isreceived by the mobile device 10 and/or smart vehicle controller 14.

The microphone and speaker 86 may be configured for recognizing voice oraudio input and/or commands. The clock 84 may record the time and datethat various sounds are collected by the microphone and speaker 86, suchas sounds of windows breaking, air bags deploying, tires skidding,conversations or voices of passengers, music within the vehicle 8, rainor wind noise, and/or other sound heard within or outside of the vehicle8.

The present embodiments may be implemented without changes or extensionsto existing communications standards. The smart vehicle controller 14may also include a relay, node, access point, Wi-Fi AP (Access Point),local node, pico-node, relay node, and/or the mobile device 10 may becapable of RF (Radio Frequency) communication, for example. The mobiledevice 10 and/or smart vehicle controller 14 may include Wi-Fi,Bluetooth, GSM (Global System for Mobile communications), LTE (Long TermEvolution), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), UMTS (Universal MobileTelecommunications System), and/or other types of components andfunctionality.

II. Telematics Data

Telematics data, as used herein, may include telematics data, and/orother types of data that have not been conventionally viewed as“telematics data.” The telematics data may be generated by, and/orcollected or received from, various sources. For example, the data mayinclude, indicate, and/or relate to vehicle (and/or mobile device)speed; acceleration; braking; deceleration; turning; time; GPS (GlobalPositioning System) or GPS-derived location, speed, acceleration, orbraking information; vehicle and/or vehicle equipment operation;external conditions (e.g., road, weather, traffic, and/or constructionconditions); other vehicles or drivers in the vicinity of an accident;vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications; vehicle-to-infrastructurecommunications; and/or image and/or audio information of the vehicleand/or insured driver before, during, and/or after an accident. The datamay include other types of data, including those discussed elsewhereherein. The data may be collected via wired or wireless communication.

The data may be generated by mobile devices (smart phones, cell phones,lap tops, tablets, phablets, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants),computers, smart watches, pagers, hand-held mobile or portable computingdevices, smart glasses, smart electronic devices, wearable devices,smart contact lenses, and/or other computing devices); smart vehicles;dash or vehicle mounted systems or original telematics devices; publictransportation systems; smart street signs or traffic lights; smartinfrastructure, roads, or highway systems (including smartintersections, exit ramps, and/or toll booths); smart trains, buses, orplanes (including those equipped with Wi-Fi or hotspot functionality);smart train or bus stations; internet sites; aerial, drone, or satelliteimages; third party systems or data; nodes, relays, and/or other devicescapable of wireless RF (Radio Frequency) communications; and/or otherdevices or systems that capture image, audio, or other data and/or areconfigured for wired or wireless communication.

In some embodiments, the data collected may also derive from police orfire departments, hospitals, and/or emergency responder communications;police reports; municipality information; automated Freedom ofInformation Act requests; and/or other data collected from governmentagencies and officials. The data from different sources or feeds may beaggregated.

The data generated may be transmitted, via wired or wirelesscommunication, to a remote server, such as a remote server and/or otherprocessor(s) associated with an insurance provider. The remote serverand/or associated processors may build a database of the telematicsand/or other data, and/or otherwise store the data collected.

The remote server and/or associated processors may analyze the datacollected and then perform certain actions and/or issue tailoredcommunications based upon the data, including the insurance-relatedactions or communications discussed elsewhere herein. The automaticgathering and collecting of data from several sources by the insuranceprovider, such as via wired or wireless communication, may lead toexpedited insurance-related activity, including the automaticidentification of insured events, and/or the automatic or semi-automaticprocessing or adjusting of insurance claims.

In one embodiment, telematics data may be collected by a mobile device(e.g., smart phone) application. An application that collects telematicsdata may ask an insured for permission to collect and send data aboutdriver behavior and/or vehicle usage to a remote server associated withan insurance provider. In return, the insurance provider may provideincentives to the insured, such as lower premiums or rates, ordiscounts. The application for the mobile device may be downloadable offof the internet.

III. Pre-Generated Requests for Assistance

Gathered telematics and/or other data (e.g., any type or types oftelematics and/or other data described above in Section I and/or SectionII) may facilitate determining the severity of (i) an accident; (ii)damage to a vehicle; and/or (iii) the injuries to the persons involved.The data gathered, such as data gathered after the accident, mayfacilitate determining what vehicle systems are broken or damaged,and/or are in need of minor or substantial repairs. The data gatheredmay indicate how much vehicle damage has occurred, and whether or notemergency services may be necessary and/or should be called or otherwisecontacted.

The telematics and/or other data may also be used to (a) identify afirst notice of loss, which in turn may be used to automatically startor initiate the claim handling process; and/or (b) accidentreconstruction. Loss identification and/or accident reconstruction maythen be paired individually and/or collectively with insurance policydata to automatically generate an insurance claim for an insured event.External data (e.g., public infrastructure or transportation systemdata) may also be used to determine the type and/or severity of theinsured event, and the insurance claim may be modified accordingly.

A. Accident Identification

An insurance provider remote server (e.g., server 40 of FIG. 1) maypromptly identify that an accident has occurred from the data gathered.Immediately after which, the remote server may automatically push apre-generated or tailored message to the insured via wirelesscommunication. The message may request that assistance be sent ordirected to the current location of the insured or the vehicle accident.The insured may approve or modify the pre-generated message. Thepre-generation of the message requesting assistance may substantiallyreduce an amount of time that it takes emergency responders to arrive atthe scene of a serious accident in some instances. Such time savings mayfacilitate the saving of human lives with respect to certain vehicleaccidents.

As an example, in the case of an accident, communications and/or optionsmay be pushed to the insured's mobile device (e.g., mobile device 10 ofFIG. 1). The insured or driver may be asked “Are you injured?”; “Do youneed assistance or an ambulance?”; “Do you need the police sent?”; “Isthe accident serious or minor?”; “How many people are injured?”; “Isanyone seriously injured?”; and/or “Is your vehicle still drivable?” viatheir mobile device (such as a smart phone, smart glasses, or wearabledevice) and/or vehicle wireless communication system.

In some embodiments, a customer or insured may control whether or notemergency responders (e.g., police, fire fighters, ambulances, towtrucks, or even insurance agents) are deployed to the scene of anaccident. As suggested above, for example, a mobile device or smartphone application may ask the insured: “Have you been in an accident”;“Do you need assistance?”; “Is the accident serious?”; and/or otherquestions. The mobile device application may allow an insured tocommunicate with an insurance provider, and/or communicate directly toemergency responders, more effectively and efficiently than withconventional techniques, and/or may save time when it is of criticalimportance for those injured in a vehicle accident. Additionally oralternatively, the mobile device (and/or insurance provider remoteserver, such as remote server 40 of FIG. 1) may automatically callemergency services for the insured once (a) an accident has beendetected from analysis of the telematics and/or other data collected,and/or (b) the severity of the accident has been automatically andremotely determined from the data.

B. Post-Accident Services

The mobile device application may (1) include and/or present a list ofnext steps that the insured should take after a vehicle accident(including instructions on how to submit an insurance claim, orautomatically generate an insurance claim, for the insured event); (2)provide post-accident assistance; (3) allow for pre-selecting towingand/or auto repair service providers; and/or (4) call pre-determinedpersons (e.g., spouse, significant other, loved one, parents, children,friends, etc.). The mobile device application may allow the insured tocustomize the automatic or semi-automatic services that may be providedand/or presented to the insured when an insured event (e.g, vehicleaccident) is detected from analysis of the telematics and/or other data.

The mobile device application (and/or application or functionality of asmart vehicle display or controller, such as smart vehicle controller 14of FIG. 1) may automatically determine that a vehicle is likely nolonger drivable from the data collected. After which, the mobile deviceapplication may present towing services (and ratings thereof) on amobile device of the insured promptly and/or immediately after anaccident. The insured may then pick a towing service using the mobiledevice (and/or smart vehicle) application. The application may thendirect the mobile device and/or smart vehicle to electronically notifythe towing service of a request for immediate service, such as viawireless communication.

The mobile device and/or smart vehicle application may also presentoptions, such as whether to direct the mobile device and/or smartvehicle to call an insurance agent and/or family members. The optionsmay allow the insured to control the communications, and/or thecommunications may be pre-set by the insured to automatically occur. Forinstance, if the telematics and/or other data gathered indicates thatthe insured is in a serious vehicle accident, the mobile device and/orsmart vehicle application may direct the mobile device and/or smartvehicle to automatically notify the insured's spouse of the details ofthe accident, including severity, accident location, status of theinsured or driver, and/or current location of the insured or driver(e.g., in an ambulance or at a hospital).

The mobile device and/or smart vehicle application may automaticallygenerate an insurance claim, and/or attach associated data gathered fromvarious sensors or systems pertinent to the insured event. Theapplication may present the insured an option to automatically submitthe automatically generated insurance claim, such as by pressing an iconor button on a user interface or display screen of a mobile deviceapplication or smart vehicle control system.

C. Application Customization

The mobile device and/or smart vehicle application may allow the insuredto customize the application. The application may allow the insured toselect services that are requested when an accident is detected from thedata collected. The accident detection may trigger the pre-selectedservices being requested and/or include contacting police, an ambulance,and/or an insurance agent.

In one embodiment, the insurance provider may keep a user-customizedprofile of user preferences for an insured. The profile may indicate ifa customer call center should proactively call the insured whencollected data indicates that an accident has occurred. Also, for aserious accident, the insurance provider remote server may send a textor other message to the responsible insurance agent. The responsibleinsurance agent may then reach out to the insured promptly to provideindividual customer service.

IV. Loss Mitigation Services

Gathered telematics and/or other data (e.g., any type or types oftelematics and/or other data described above in Section I and/or SectionII) may facilitate loss mitigation services. If an insured eventhappens, an insurance provider may be remotely notified via wirelesscommunication and/or may identify such insured events based upon dataremotely received from vehicles, mobile devices, and/or other electronicdevices or systems.

The telematics and/or other data gathered may lead to triage of an autoaccident. The data gathered may facilitate identification of whether theclaim is minor and may be a “self-serve” type of claim. Additionally oralternatively, the data gathered may indicate that the claim is major,and may involve a fatality or a total loss claim. An application on asmart phone (e.g., mobile device 10 of FIG. 1, or on a smart vehiclecontroller such as smart vehicle controller 14 of FIG. 1) of the insuredmay automatically present options for the insured to submit a self-servetype of claim, and/or automatically or semi-automatically get theinsured in contact with a representative of the insurance provider formore serious and complex claims. Moreover, any of the assistancerequests discussed above in Section III may be automatically sent to theinsured, to a first responder (e.g., hospital), and/or to otherindividuals or entities, for example (e.g., after approval ormodification of the request by the insured).

The mobile device and/or smart vehicle application may allow twocustomers of the same insurance provider to exchange information afteran accident. For instance, the applications and/or mobile devices may beequipped for Near Field Communication (NFC). The insurance customers mayagree upon the facts of the accident, including who was at fault, andsubmit a single or joint insurance claim to the insurance provider viatheir mobile devices. Such submission, especially for minor accidents,may facilitate prompt and efficient handling of the insurance claim(s)by the insurance provider, and alleviate any inconvenience incurred onthe part of the insured or group of insurance customers with respect tofiling insurance claims and/or other paperwork.

V. Intelligent Routing and Other Recommendations

The present embodiments may facilitate generating intelligent routingand/or other recommendations, and transmitting those to an insured.Intelligent routing recommendations may be based upon vehicle location,route, and/or destination information. The intelligent routing may alsobe based upon historical data and/or real-time data. The historicaland/or real-time data may relate to past or current accidents, weather,traffic, traffic patterns, road conditions, and/or road construction.The intelligent routing functionality, and/or usage (or percentage ofusage) thereof, may be used to adjust insurance premiums or rates,and/or discounts.

A. Route Guidance

The intelligent routing recommendations may provide (e.g., via wirelesscommunication, from server 40 of FIG. 1 to mobile device 10, and/orsmart vehicle controller 14, of FIG. 1) directions and/or route guidanceto a driver or insured based upon traffic patterns and/or actualaccident data. The intelligent routing may also take into considerationcurrent weather, construction, traffic, and/or other current conditions.

The intelligent routing recommendations may provide real-time warningsor updates to drivers or insurance customers. Moreover, the intelligentrouting recommendations may lead to collision or accident avoidance;more efficient or quicker trips; driving through less traffic orconstruction; better gas mileage; and/or other benefits.

For instance, short-term or minor road construction projects that mayoccur with little or no notice may be promptly detected by an insured orthe insured's smart vehicle. The GPS location of the minor roadconstruction project (which may be temporarily shutting down a maintraffic route or otherwise slowing down traffic) may be sent from thesmart vehicle of the insured to the insurance provider remote server.The remote server may then estimate routes to divert traffic around theconstruction project and notify other insurance customers in the area ofan alternate recommended route, such as via wireless communication totheir smart vehicles (e.g., vehicle 8 or smart vehicle controller 14 ofFIG. 1) or mobile devices (e.g. mobile device 10 of FIG. 1).

The telematics and/or other data may be used to generate messages oralerts transmitted to a smart vehicle or mobile device. A message mayindicate that the driver is entering a danger zone associated with anabove average risk. For instance, the area may have a lot of ongoingconstruction, and/or be associated with a higher than average number ofaccidents.

In one embodiment, the intelligent routing may utilizevehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication. The V2V communication may revealthat the vehicles ahead of an insured vehicle are all braking,indicating an accident ahead. The V2V communication data may be sentdirectly from one vehicle to an insured vehicle (e.g., from vehicle 6 tovehicle 8 of FIG. 1), or alternatively, from one vehicle to a remotetelematics or an insurance provider server (e.g., from vehicle 6 toserver 40 of FIG. 1). The remote server may then send a message orwarning to the insured or insured vehicle to slow down, or even exit ahighway and take an alternate route. Access to the remote server may begranted via a subscription service or as a customer service provided bythe insurance provider.

V2V communication may include sending a message to a smart vehicle ormobile device directing the smart vehicle or mobile device toautomatically start recording telematics data. For instance, V2Vcommunication may indicate that an accident has occurred or is likely tohappen. In such situations, automatically recording telematics and/orother data may facilitate accident reconstruction and/or cause ofaccident determination.

B. Accident Location Reporting

In one embodiment, an insured may opt-in to a program that allows orfacilitates, from telematics and/or other data, automatic vehicleaccident location reporting. Reporting accident locations in real-timeto an insurance provider remote server may facilitate the remote serverdetermining intelligent routes for a group of other insurance customerspresently on the road. Customers currently traveling toward the scene ofthe accident may be re-directed by the remote server. The intelligentroutes may direct each of the other insurance customers away from, or toavoid, the scene of the accident, facilitating more efficient and safertravel.

In other words, if one insured self-reports an accident location (e.g.,via automatic wireless communication indicating GPS locationinformation), other insurance customers or drivers may be able topromptly and effectively avoid the accident scene through intelligentrouting. The intelligent routing may not only consider avoidance of theaccident scene, but also other driving risk conditions, such as currenttraffic, construction, and/or weather conditions, to determine anoverall lowest risk alternate route to each vehicle's respectivedestination.

C. Other Recommendations

Telematics and/or other data gathered (e.g., any type or types oftelematics and/or other data described above in Section I and/or SectionII) may reveal certain trends about an insured. The data may indicatethat the insured is typically driving in areas associated with anabove-average number of accidents and/or high crime neighborhoods. Thedata may also indicate that the insured is driving over the speed limittoo much and/or taking turns while driving above a recommended speed.The high risk accident areas or corners may be highlighted on a road mapdisplay, such as a vehicle navigation unit, for ease of viewing.

In response, the insurance provider remote server may push appropriaterecommendations to the insured, such as recommendations to take certaincorners at a slower speed and/or avoid traveling on roads, or throughareas, associated with a high number of past accidents. The insuranceprovider remote server may also present an insurance-related benefit ona display that may be earned if the insured follows theinsurance-related recommendations as a means of incentivizing lower riskdriving behavior.

VI. Theft Prevention & Mitigation

A telematics device may determine that the driver of a vehicle is notthe owner or an authorized driver (e.g., not someone covered under theauto insurance policy). The vehicle and/or mobile device may determinethat an unknown driver is attempting or may attempt to start an insuredvehicle, or is already driving the insured vehicle, by detecting that anunknown or unrecognized mobile device (e.g., smart phone) is in thevehicle.

As an example, allowed/authorized mobile device Bluetooth signatures maybe detected from normal mobile device operation. However, if anunrecognized Bluetooth signal is detected, it may be determined that thevehicle has been stolen, especially if GPS information from theinsured's mobile device indicates that the insured is not presently inthe insured vehicle. The insured, insurance provider, and/or police mayall be automatically notified of the theft.

Additionally or alternatively, a current GPS location of the insuredvehicle may be displayed on a virtual map of a mobile deviceapplication, along with speed and direction information. The mobiledevice application with “Find My Car” functionality may be used tolocate vehicles parked in large parking lots, such as a shopping mall orairport, where the insured may have forgotten where they have parked,and/or may be used to locate stolen vehicles.

The telematics and/or other data may indicate that a home is leftunoccupied for a substantial length of time. For instance, it may bedetermined from the data collected indicates how often an insured visitsand/or how much the insured spends at a second or vacation home. If aninsured home is left unoccupied for a substantial amount of time, arecommendation may be sent to the insured to monitor the condition orstatus of the home more closely to alleviate the risk of theft and/orneeded repairs being left unattended to. Insurance savings (e.g., apremium discount) may be provided to the insured in return for followingthe recommendations provided by the insurance provider.

VII. Exemplary Loss Mitigation Method

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary computer-implemented method 100 of lossmitigation associated with a vehicle accident. In some embodiments, themethod 100 may be implemented in whole or in part by one or morecomponents of the system 1 depicted in FIG. 1. For example, the method100 may be implemented by one or more servers remote from the components(e.g., sensors, vehicles, mobile devices, etc.) sourcing telematicsdata, such as the server 40 (e.g., processor(s) 62 of the server 40 whenexecuting instructions stored in the program memory 60 of the server 40)or another server not shown in FIG. 1.

The method 100 may include collecting accident data associated with avehicle accident involving a driver (block 102). The driver may beassociated with an insurance policy issued by the insurance provider(e.g., an owner of the policy, or another individual listed on thepolicy). The accident data may include telematics data, and possiblyother data, collected from one or more sources. For example, theaccident data may include data associated with or generated by one ormore mobile devices (e.g., mobile device 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2); aninsured vehicle or a computer system of the insured vehicle (e.g.,vehicle 8 or smart vehicle controller 14 of FIGS. 1 and 2, or one ormore sensors mounted on the vehicle); a vehicle other than the insuredvehicle (e.g., vehicle 6 of FIG. 1); vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)communication (e.g., communications between vehicle 8 and vehicle 6 inFIG. 1); and/or roadside equipment or infrastructure located near alocation of the vehicle accident (e.g., infrastructure components 26 ofFIG. 1). Generally, the accident data may include any one or more of thetypes of data discussed above in Section I and/or II (and/or othersuitable types of data), and may be collected according to any of thetechniques discussed above in Section I and/or II (and/or other suitabletechniques). The accident data may have been generated by the respectivesource(s), and/or collected, before, during and/or after the accident.

The method 100 may also include analyzing any or all of the collectedaccident data (block 104), and determining a likely severity of theaccident based upon the analysis (block 106). For example, it may bedetermined that an accident is likely severe (e.g., likely involvessevere personal injury) if accelerometer data included in the accidentdata indicates a very large and abrupt change in speed. As anotherexample, it may be determined that an accident is likely severe if theaccident data (e.g., from a vehicle-mounted camera) shows that theaccident was a head-on accident between two vehicles.

The method 100 may also include automatically communicating with thedriver (e.g., the insured) (block 108). For example, a communicationrelated to emergency assistance or an emergency assistancerecommendation may be generated based upon the likely severity asdetermined at block 106, and then transmitted from one or more remoteservers implementing the method 100 to a mobile device associated with(e.g., owned and/or carried by) the driver, such as mobile device 10 ofFIG. 1. The communication may take any of various different forms, suchas, for example, “Are you injured?”; “Do you need assistance or anambulance?”; “Do you need the police sent?”; “Is the accident serious orminor?”; “How many people are injured?”; “Is anyone seriously injured?”;and/or “Is your vehicle still drivable?”

Alternative embodiments and/or scenarios corresponding to block 108(and/or a process subsequent to block 108) are reflected in blocks 108Athrough 108C. For example, the driver (e.g., insured) may either acceptor reject the emergency assistance indicated in the communication (block108A), e.g., by making a selection via a user interface of the mobiledevice, in response to a prompt that appears in connection with thecommunication. Alternatively, the driver may modify the emergencyassistance request or recommendation (block 108B), e.g., by indicating adifferent type of emergency assistance (ambulance, police, etc.). Again,the modification may be made via a user interface of the mobile device,in response to a prompt that appears in connection with thecommunication. As yet another alternative, an emergency assistancerequest may automatically be sent to a third party (e.g., policedepartment, fire department, hospital, etc.) without waiting for anyfeedback from the driver (block 108C). For example, the communication atblock 108 may merely notify the driver that emergency assistance hasbeen requested, and possibly specify the type of assistance requested.

Although not shown in FIG. 3, the method 100 may also include receivinga wireless communication from the driver (e.g., from the mobile deviceof the driver) in response to the communication at block 108. Thewireless communication may indicate whether the driver approved and/ormodified (or rejected) the recommended or proposed emergency assistance,for example. In such an embodiment, if the assistance is not rejected,the method 100 may further include notifying a third party (e.g., policedepartment, fire department, hospital, etc.) of the proposed emergencyassistance, in accordance with the modifications, if any, made by thedriver.

The method 100 may also include determining (e.g., based upon theanalysis at block 104) fault of the driver for the accident. As seen inFIG. 3, for example, the fault for the driver (e.g., the insured) and/orfor another driver may be compared or otherwise analyzed, and assignedto the appropriate party or parties (block 110). The fault may bedetermined as one or more binary indicators (e.g., “at fault” or “not atfault”), percentages (e.g., “25% responsible”), ratios or fractions,and/or any other suitable indicator(s) or measure(s) of fault. In someembodiments and/or scenarios, fault for a first individual is implicitlydetermined based upon the fault that is explicitly determined foranother individual (e.g., an insured may implicitly be determined tohave 0% fault if another driver is explicitly determined to be 100% atfault).

The method 100 may also include handling an insurance claim associatedwith the accident (block 112). For example, the fault of the driver(e.g., insured) determined at block 110 may be used to determine theappropriate payout by the insurance provider, or whether anotherinsurance provider should be responsible for payment, etc.

The method 100 may also include adjusting, generating and/or updatingone or more insurance-related items (block 114). The insurance-relateditem(s) may include, for example, parameters of the insurance policy(e.g., a deductible), a premium, a rate, a discount, and/or a reward.The adjustment, generation and/or update may be based upon the faultdetermined at block 110, or based upon the driver having the emergencyassistance functionality that allows the method 100 to be performed(e.g., a mobile device application that enables the driver to receivethe communication sent at block 108 and/or to send the wirelesscommunication received at block 108), for example.

In other embodiments, the method 100 may include additional, fewer, oralternate actions as compared to those shown in FIG. 3, including any ofthose discussed elsewhere herein. For example, the method 100 mayfurther include transmitting information indicative of the adjusted,generated, or updated insurance-related items to a mobile deviceassociated with the driver (or another individual associated with theinsurance policy), such as mobile device 10 of FIG. 1, to be displayedon the mobile device for review, modification, or approval by the driveror other individual.

As another example, the method 100 may further include receiving awireless communication from the driver cancelling emergency assistancethat has already been requested from a third party. As yet anotherexample, the method 100 may include (1) generating an estimatedinsurance claim based upon the likely severity determined at block 106;(2) transmitting the estimated insurance claim to the driver's orinsured's mobile device to facilitate presenting all or some of theclaim to the driver or insured; (3) receiving a wireless communicationfrom the driver or insured indicating approval, rejection ormodification of the claim; (4) and/or handling the claim in accordancewith the approval, rejection or modification. In still other exampleembodiments, the method 100 may omit blocks 110, 112 and/or 114.

As can be seen from the above discussion, the method 100 may enable aprompt response by the appropriate personnel (e.g., by first responderswith an ambulance), and various components (e.g., in the example system1) may complete their associated tasks relatively quickly and/orefficiently. For instance, the processor 62 of FIG. 1 may require muchless time and/or far fewer processing cycles to request emergencyassistance than if an insurance provider employee were to learn aboutthe accident via other means (e.g., a phone call from the insured orpassenger) and then instruct processor 62 to generate a request forhelp.

VIII. Additional Exemplary Loss Mitigation Methods

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of loss mitigation may beprovided. The method may include (1) collecting or receiving telematicsand/or other data at or via a remote server associated with an insuranceprovider, the telematics and/or other data being associated with avehicle accident involving a specific driver and/or an insured. Theinsured may own an insurance policy issued by the insurance provider,and the telematics and/or other data may be gathered before, during,and/or after the vehicle accident. The method may include (2) analyzingthe telematics and/or other data at and/or via the remote server; (3)determining, at and/or via the remote server, a likely severity of thevehicle accident from the analysis of the telematics and/or other data;(4) generating a communication related to emergency assistance or anemergency assistance recommendation, at the remote server, based uponthe likely severity of the vehicle accident that is determined from theanalysis of the telematics and/or other data; (5) transmitting, viawireless communication, the communication related to the emergencyassistance or emergency assistance recommendation from the remote serverto a mobile device or smart vehicle associated with the specific driverand/or insured; (6) receiving, at and/or via the remote server, awireless communication from the specific driver and/or insuredindicating approval, rejection, or modification of the emergencyassistance or emergency assistance recommendation; and/or (7) notifying,via communication sent from the remote server, the emergency assistanceapproved and/or requested by the specific driver to a third party, suchas emergency responders (i.e., police or medical personnel). The methodmay include additional, fewer, or alternate actions, including thosediscussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, the method may include adjusting, generating, and/orupdating, at and/or via the remote server, an insurance policy, premium,rate, discount, and/or reward for the specific driver and/or the insuredbased upon having the emergency assistance functionality. The method mayfurther comprise transmitting information related to the adjusted,generated, and/or updated insurance policy, premium, rate, discount,and/or reward from the remote server to a mobile device associated withthe specific driver and/or insured to facilitate presenting, on adisplay of the mobile device, all or a portion of the adjusted,generated, and/or updated insurance policy, premium, rate, discount,and/or reward to the specific driver and/or insured for their review,modification, and/or approval. Also, the telematics and/or other datamay include the types of data discussed elsewhere herein.

In another aspect, another computer-implemented method of lossmitigation may be provided. The method may include (1) collecting orreceiving telematics and/or other data at or via a remote serverassociated with an insurance provider, the telematics and/or other databeing associated with a vehicle accident involving a specific driverand/or an insured. The insured may own an insurance policy issued by theinsurance provider, and the telematics and/or other data may be gatheredbefore, during, and/or after the vehicle accident. The method mayinclude (2) analyzing the telematics and/or other data at and/or via theremote server; (3) determining, at and/or via the remote server, alikely severity of the vehicle accident from the analysis of thetelematics and/or other data; (4) generating a communication related toemergency assistance or an emergency assistance recommendation, atand/or via the remote server, based upon the likely severity of thevehicle accident that is determined from the analysis of the telematicsand/or other data; and/or (5) transmitting, via wireless communication,the communication related to the emergency assistance or emergencyassistance recommendation from the remote server directly to a thirdparty, such as a police department, fire department, and/or hospital tofacilitate prompt and appropriate emergency responder response to thevehicle accident.

The method may further comprise notifying the specific driver and/orinsured, via wireless communication sent from the remote server, thatthe emergency assistance from the third party has been requested, and/orreceiving from the specific driver and/or insured, at or via the remoteserver, a wireless communication indicating a cancellation of theemergency assistance from the third party and/or that the emergencyassistance is not necessary. The method may include adjusting,generating, and/or updating, via the remote server, an insurance policy,premium, rate, discount, and/or reward for the specific driver and/orthe insured based upon having the emergency assistance functionality.

The method may include transmitting information related to the adjusted,generated, and/or updated insurance policy, premium, rate, discount,and/or reward from the remote server to a mobile device associated withthe specific driver and/or insured to facilitate presenting, on adisplay of the mobile device, all or a portion of the adjusted,generated, and/or updated insurance policy, premium, rate, discount,and/or reward to the specific driver and/or insured for their review,modification, and/or approval.

IX. Exemplary Estimated Claim Generation Method

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of generating an insuranceclaim for an insured may be provided. The method may include: (1)collecting or receiving telematics and/or other data (e.g., any of thetelematics and/or other data described above in Section I and/or SectionII) at or via a remote server associated with an insurance provider(e.g., server 40 of FIG. 1), the telematics and/or other data beingassociated with a vehicle accident involving a specific driver and/or aninsured, the insured owning an insurance policy issued by the insuranceprovider and the telematics and/or other data being gathered before,during, and/or after the vehicle accident; (2) analyzing the telematicsand/or other data at or via the remote server; (3) determining, at orvia the remote server, a likely severity of the vehicle accident fromthe analysis of the telematics and/or other data; (4) generating anestimated insurance claim, at or via the remote server, based upon theseverity of the vehicle accident determined from the analysis of thetelematics and/or other data; (5) transmitting, via wirelesscommunication, the estimated insurance claim from the remote server to amobile device associated with the specific driver and/or insured (e.g.,mobile device 10 of FIG. 1) to facilitate presenting all, or a portionof, the estimated insurance claim to the specific driver and/or insured;(6) receiving, at or via the remote server, a wireless communicationfrom the specific driver and/or insured indicating approval, rejection,or modification of the estimated insurance claim; and/or (7) handling oraddressing the estimated insurance claim, at or via the remote server,in accordance with the specific driver and/or insured's approval,rejection, or modification of the estimated insurance claim. The methodmay further include (8) adjusting, generating, and/or updating, at orvia the remote server, an insurance policy, premium, rate, discount,and/or reward for the specific driver and/or the insured (or insuredvehicle) based upon the estimated insurance claim. The method mayinclude additional, fewer, or alternate actions, including thosediscussed elsewhere herein.

X. Exemplary Intelligent Routing Method

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary computer-implemented method 200 ofproviding intelligent routing to reduce risk and/or the likelihood of aninsured event from occurring. In some embodiments, the method 200 may beimplemented in whole or in part by one or more components of the system1 depicted in FIG. 1. For example, the method 200 may be implemented byone or more servers remote from the components (e.g., sensors, vehicles,mobile devices, etc.) sourcing telematics data, such as the server 40(e.g., processor(s) 62 of the server 40 when executing instructionsstored in the program memory 60 of the server 40) or another server notshown in FIG. 1.

The method 200 may include receiving trip information including avehicle's destination, planned route, and/or current location. As seenin FIG. 4, for example, the method 200 may include collecting telematicsand/or other data associated with the vehicle's location, route, and/ordestination (and possibly other information, such as the vehicle'sorigination point) at an insurance provider remote server (block 202).The data may include GPS, navigation, and/or other data associated with,or generated by, the driver's mobile device, the driver's vehicle (or acomputer system thereof), another vehicle (e.g., a vehicle in thevicinity of the driver's vehicle), V2V communication, and/or roadsideequipment and/or infrastructure, for example.

The method 200 may also include analyzing the data/information collectedat block 202 (block 204). In some embodiments and/or scenarios, themethod 200 may include comparing/analyzing the vehicle location, route,and/or destination with real-time traffic, construction, and/or weatherconditions (block 206A). The real-time traffic, construction, and/orweather conditions may be telematics data collected from other vehicles(and/or roadside equipment or infrastructure, etc.), for example. Inother embodiments and/or scenarios, the method 200 may includecomparing/analyzing the vehicle location, route, and/or destination withinformation in a database of traffic conditions, constructionconditions, weather conditions, and/or past accidents (block 206B). Themethod 200 may include building the database using traffic,construction, weather, and/or accident information gathered from one ormore sources (e.g., news feeds, telematics data, etc.), for example.

The method 200 may also include identifying a lower risk route or routesbetween the vehicle's current location and the destination (block 208).For example, the method 200 may include identifying areas (e.g., roadsor road segments) associated with higher risk of vehicle accident usingcollected vehicle telematics data and/or database (e.g., traffic,construction, weather, accident, etc.) information, and the route(s) maybe identified/determined at block 208 such that those high-risk areasare avoided. Alternatively, as seen in FIG. 4, the method 200 mayinclude identifying a more fuel-efficient route from the vehicle'scurrent location to the destination at block 208.

The method 200 may also include communicating at least one of the one ormore identified lower risk routes to the driver (e.g., the insured) as arecommended route to the destination (block 210). The route may becommunicated via wireless communication to a mobile device and/or asmart vehicle of the driver (e.g., to mobile device 10, and/or a vehiclenavigation system of vehicle 8, of FIG. 1), for example.

The method 200 may also include determining whether the recommendedroute was taken by the driver based upon analysis of telematics and/orother data (block 212). For example, GPS data may be received from thedriver's mobile device or smart vehicle, and used to determine whetherthe recommended route was followed or a different route was takeninstead.

The method 200 may also include adjusting, updating, and/or generatingone or more insurance-related items based upon the determination atblock 212 (block 214). The insurance-related item(s) may include, forexample, parameters of the insurance policy (e.g., a deductible), apremium, a rate, a discount, and/or a reward. Alternatively, oradditionally, the insurance-related item(s) may be adjusted, updated,and/or generated (e.g., insurance discounts may be provided) based uponan amount of usage, by the driver or another individual associated withthe same insurance policy, of the intelligent routing functionality(e.g., a number or percentage of recommended routes taken, etc.).

In other embodiments, the method 200 may include additional, fewer, oralternate actions as compared to those shown in FIG. 4, including any ofthose discussed elsewhere herein. For example, the method 200 may omitblock 212 and/or block 214.

As can be seen from the above discussion, the method 200 may efficientlydetermine low-risk routes for drivers. For instance, the processor 62 ofFIG. 1 may centrally determine low-risk routes for numerous differentdrivers in much less time than would be needed if those drivers were toinstead use personal (e.g., mobile) computing devices to directlycollect, and manually review, information (e.g., past or currentaccident information) needed to identify their own low-risk routes.

XI. Additional Exemplary Intelligent Routing Methods

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of intelligent routingmay be provided. The method may include (1) collecting telematics and/orother data and/or building a database related to multiple vehicleaccidents; (2) identifying, via a processor or remote sever, areas ofhigher than average vehicle accidents and/or less risky travel routes orroads; (3) receiving, at or via the remote server, a destination, aplanned route, and/or a current location of a vehicle, such as fromtelematics related data; (4) based upon the destination, planned route,or current location of the vehicle, determining, at or via the remoteserver, a recommended route to the destination that avoids the areas ofhigher than average vehicle accidents and/or reduces accident associatedrisk; and/or (5) transmitting the recommended route from the remoteserver to the insured and/or driver via wireless communication fordisplay on the vehicle navigation system and/or a mobile deviceassociated with the insured and/or driver to facilitate the insuredand/or driver traveling via a route associated with lower risk ofaccident.

The method may include generating insurance discounts based upon anamount that the insured uses the intelligent routing functionalityprovided by an insurance provider. The telematics and/or other data mayinclude the data indicated elsewhere herein. The method of intelligentrouting may include additional, fewer, or alternative actions, includingthose discussed elsewhere herein.

In another aspect, another method of intelligent routing may beprovided. The method may include: (1) building a database associatedwith road traffic, construction areas, and/or vehicle accidents; (2)receiving, at or via an insurance provider remote server, a vehicledestination and a current vehicle location associated with an insuredvehicle from the insured vehicle and/or a mobile device of a driverand/or insured associated with the insured vehicle, such as fromtelematics related data; (3) analyzing, at or via the insurance providerremote server, the vehicle destination and the current vehicle locationassociated with the insured vehicle in conjunction with the databaseassociated with the road traffic, construction areas, and/or vehicleaccidents to determine a low risk recommended or alternate route to thedestination; and/or (4) transmitting from the remote server, the lowrisk recommended or alternate route to the destination to the vehicleand/or a mobile device associated with the driver and/or insured tofacilitate the driver and/or insured taking the low risk recommended oralternate route to the destination.

The method may include generating insurance discounts based upon anamount of usage (by an insured) of the intelligent routing functionalityprovided by an insurance provider. The telematics and/or other data mayinclude the data indicated elsewhere herein. The method of intelligentrouting may include additional, fewer, or alternative actions, includingthose discussed elsewhere herein.

XII. Exemplary Theft Prevention or Mitigation Method

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary computer-implemented method 300 of theftprevention or mitigation. In some embodiments, the method 300 may beimplemented in whole or in part by one or more components of the system1 depicted in FIG. 1. For example, the method 300 may be implemented byone or more servers remote from the components (e.g., sensors, vehicles,mobile devices, etc.) sourcing telematics data, such as the server 40(e.g., processor(s) 62 of the server 40 when executing instructionsstored in the program memory 60 of the server 40) or another server notshown in FIG. 1. While the blocks of FIG. 5 refer to a “remote server,”however, it is understood that other components may implement the method300 in other embodiments. For example, the method 300 may be implementedby a vehicle controller, such as the smart vehicle controller 14 ofFIGS. 1 and 2, or another vehicle controller not shown in FIG. 1 or 2.

The method 300 may include collecting driver-related data over time(block 302). The data may be associated with one or more authorizeddrivers of an insured vehicle (e.g., a policy owner and one or morefamily members), with the driver(s) and vehicle being covered by aninsurance policy issued by an insurance provider (e.g., an insuranceprovider associated with one or more servers implementing the method300, in one embodiment). In particular, the collected driver-relateddata may be associated with identification and/or driving behavior ofthe driver(s). For example, the driver-related data may include dataindicative of driver weights, driver appearances, acceleration, brakingand/or cornering behaviors of the drivers, and so on.

The driver-related data may include telematics data, and possibly otherdata, collected from one or more sources. For example, thedriver-related data may include data associated with or generated by oneor more mobile devices (e.g., mobile device 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2); aninsured vehicle or a computer system of the insured vehicle (e.g.,vehicle 8 or smart vehicle controller 14 of FIGS. 1 and 2, or one ormore sensors mounted on the vehicle, such as a driver's seat weightsensor, or a vehicle-mounted camera for capturing images of drivers,etc.); a vehicle other than the insured vehicle (e.g., vehicle 6 of FIG.1); vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication (e.g., communications betweenvehicle 8 and vehicle 6 in FIG. 1); and/or roadside equipment orinfrastructure located near a location of the vehicle accident (e.g.,infrastructure components 26 of FIG. 1). Generally, the driver-relateddata may include any one or more of the types of data discussed above inSection I and/or II (and/or other suitable types of data), and may becollected according to any of the techniques discussed above in SectionI and/or II (and/or other suitable techniques).

The collected driver-related data may be analyzed (block 304). Forexample, the data may be analyzed in order to determine an “electronicsignature” for the mobile device of each authorized driver. As anotherexample, vehicle operation data such as acceleration, braking andcornering, and/or other data, may be analyzed to determine higher-levelbehaviors of a driver (e.g., how often the driver brakes suddenly, orhow often and/or by how much the driver exceeds the speed limit, etc.).Data may also be analyzed to categorize the data according to driver(e.g., determine, based upon weights or other identifying data, whichdriving behaviors correspond to which authorized driver, etc.).

While not shown in FIG. 5, the method 300 may also include a block inwhich a database associated with the authorized driver(s) is built basedupon the driver-related data. For example, the output data produced bythe analysis at block 304 (e.g., driver-specific weights, images orfacial features, driving behaviors, etc.) may be stored in the database.

The known data (e.g., stored in the database) may be compared to newdata to determine that a driver is unauthorized, i.e., not one of theindividuals covered by the insurance policy (block 306). While referredto here as an unauthorized “driver,” the individual may be currentlydriving the insured vehicle, or may merely be attempting to start thevehicle or even just sitting in a seat (e.g., driver's seat) of thevehicle.

While not shown in FIG. 5, the method 300 may include a block in whichcurrent or real-time driver-related data is collected prior to makingthe comparison at block 306. For example, current telematics and/orother data associated with the unauthorized individual may be collected(e.g., in a manner similar to that described above in connection withblock 302) in order to determine identifying characteristics and/ordriving behaviors of the individual.

The comparison at block 306 may include, for example, comparing a weightof the current driver with the weights of each authorized driver (e.g.,based upon data that was generated by a driver's seat weight sensor ofthe insured vehicle), comparing an appearance of the current driver withthe appearance of each authorized driver (e.g., based upon image datacaptured by a vehicle-mounted camera and using suitable image processingtechniques), and/or comparing electronic signatures or signals of mobiledevices of the authorized drivers with an unknown electronic signatureor signal of an unrecognizable mobile device associated with theunauthorized individual. Additionally or alternatively, the comparisonmay include comparing acceleration, braking and/or cornering behaviorsor patterns of the current driver with like behaviors or patterns ofeach authorized driver, etc.

After determining that the current driver is unauthorized, the insuredvehicle may be disabled (block 308). For example, a remote serverimplementing the method 300 may send a wireless signal to a vehiclecontroller within the insured vehicle (e.g., smart vehicle controller 14of FIG. 1), causing the insured vehicle to gradually and slowly come toa halt (if currently moving), or preventing the insured vehicle frombeing started (if not yet moving), etc. In some embodiments, thedisablement/prevention may only occur if an authorized driver (e.g., thepolicy owner) acknowledges/confirms that the person currently driving(or attempting to start, etc.) the insured vehicle does not have thepermission of the policy owner and/or vehicle owner to drive the insuredvehicle.

Disablement of the vehicle may also depend upon other conditions beingsatisfied. For example, it may first need to be verified that theunauthorized individual is sitting in a driver's seat of the insuredvehicle (e.g., rather than simply being a passenger). The verificationmay be made by triangulation or communication techniques between theunauthorized individual's mobile device and a vehicle-mountedtransmitter, and/or using a visual image of the unauthorized individual,for example.

As an alternative to block 308, the method 300 may include tracking thelocation of the insured vehicle (block 310). Vehicle tracking may beaccomplished using GPS coordinates, for example, and may persist untilthe vehicle is returned to the vehicle owner. The method 300 may alsoinclude transmitting a current GPS location of the insured vehicle to amobile device of one of the authorized drivers (e.g., the policy ownerand/or vehicle owner), and/or to a third party remote server (e.g., aserver associated with a police department).

In other embodiments, the method 300 may include additional, fewer, oralternate actions as compared to those shown in FIG. 5, including any ofthose discussed elsewhere herein. For example, instead of (or inaddition to) block 308, the method 300 may include notifying one of theauthorized drivers (e.g., the policy owner) and/or authorities (e.g., aserver of a police department), via wired or wireless communications,that the insured vehicle was (or may be) stolen.

As can be seen from the above discussion, the method 300 may efficientlyprevent vehicle theft, or efficiently mitigate the losses and/orinconveniences due to such a theft. For instance, the processor 62 ofFIG. 1 may detect a likely vehicle theft far more quickly than if aninsurance provider employee were to input theft reporting data to server40 only after an insured or other individual recognized, and then calledto report, the theft.

XIII. Additional Exemplary Theft Prevention or Mitigation Method

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of vehicle theft preventionor mitigation may be provided. The method may include: (1) collecting orreceiving telematics and/or other data at or via a remote serverassociated with an insurance provider (or at or via a vehiclecontroller) over time, the telematics and/or other data being associatedwith an insured driver or family member driving an insured vehicle(and/or their identification), the insured vehicle being covered by aninsurance policy issued by the insurance provider; (2) building, at orvia the remote server (or vehicle controller), a database of insureddrivers or family members (i) authorized to drive the insured vehicle,and/or (ii) covered by the insurance policy; (3) collecting or receivingcurrent telematics and/or other data at or via the remote server (orvehicle controller) associated with an individual attempting to start orcurrently driving the insured vehicle; (4) determining, at or via theremote server (or vehicle controller), that the individual attempting tostart or currently driving the insured vehicle is not among the insureddrivers or family members (i) authorized to drive the insured vehicle,or (ii) covered by the insurance policy; and/or (5) if so, thendirecting or controlling, at or via the remote server (or vehiclecontroller), a disablement of an operation of the insured vehicle (i.e.,preventing the vehicle from operating, or safely or orderly slowing thedown the vehicle to a halt and/or moving the vehicle off to the side ofthe road) and/or preventing the individual from starting or otherwiseoperating the insured vehicle to facilitate preventing or mitigatingtheft of the insured vehicle.

The determining, at or via the remote server (or vehicle controller),that the individual attempting to start, or currently driving, theinsured vehicle is not among the insured drivers or family members (i)authorized to drive the insured vehicle, or (ii) covered by theinsurance policy may be performed by comparing electronic signatures orsignals of mobile devices of the insured drivers or family members withan unknown electronic signature or signal of a unrecognizable mobiledevice associated with the individual attempting to start, or currentlydriving, the insured vehicle, or otherwise sitting in a driver's seat ofthe insured vehicle. The method may include verifying, before preventingoperation of the insured vehicle, that the unknown individual attemptingto start, or currently driving, the insured vehicle is sitting in thedriver's seat of the insured vehicle, such as via (a) triangulation orcommunication techniques between the unrecognizable mobile device andvehicle mounted transmitters, and/or (b) using visual images gathered orcollected from the telematics and/or other data.

In one embodiment, determining, at or via the remote server (or vehiclecontroller), that the individual attempting to start, or currentlydriving, the insured vehicle is not among the insured drivers or familymembers (i) authorized to drive the insured vehicle, or (ii) covered bythe insurance policy is performed by comparing electronic signatures orsignals of various mobile devices. In another embodiment, determining,at or via the remote server (or vehicle controller), that the individualattempting to start, or currently driving, the insured vehicle is notamong the insured drivers or family members (i) authorized to drive theinsured vehicle, or (ii) covered by the insurance policy is performed bycomparing (a) visual images (such as gathered by vehicle mounted camerasor mobile devices) or weights (such as determined from seat sensors) ofthe insured drivers or family members with (b) visual images or a weightof the individual attempting to start, or currently driving, the insuredvehicle, respectively.

In one aspect, the telematics and/or other data may include dataassociated with, or generated by, mobile devices, such as smart phones,smart glasses, and/or smart wearable electronic devices capable ofwireless communication. The telematics and/or other data may includedata associated with, or generated by, an insured vehicle or a computersystem of the insured vehicle. The telematics and/or other data mayinclude data associated with, or generated by, (i) a vehicle other thanthe insured vehicle; (ii) vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication; and/or(iii) road side equipment or infrastructure.

The method may further include, when it is determined, at or via theremote server (or vehicle controller), that the individual attempting tostart, or currently driving, the insured vehicle is not among theinsured drivers or family members (i) authorized to drive the insuredvehicle, or (ii) covered by the insurance policy, generating a message(or wireless communication) and transmitting the message from the remoteserver (or vehicle controller) to a mobile device of one of the insureddrivers or family members, or to authorities to facilitate vehiclerecapture or safety. The method may include tracking the GPS location ofthe insured vehicle at the remote server (or vehicle controller), and/ortransmitting the present GPS location of the insured vehicle to a mobiledevice of an insured or to a third party remote server, such as a policedepartment. The method may include additional, fewer, or alternateactions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

XIV. Additional Considerations

The following additional considerations apply to the foregoingdiscussion. Throughout this specification, plural instances mayimplement operations or structures described as a single instance.Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustratedand described as separate operations, one or more of the individualoperations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that theoperations be performed in the order illustrated. These and othervariations, modifications, additions, and improvements fall within thescope of the subject matter herein.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using wordssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,”“presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions orprocesses of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates or transformsdata represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical)quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or othermachine components that receive, store, transmit, or displayinformation.

As used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in variousplaces in the specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,”“including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited to only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary,“or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example,a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true(or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or notpresent) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (orpresent).

In addition, use of “a” or “an” is employed to describe elements andcomponents of the embodiments herein. This is done merely forconvenience and to give a general sense of the invention. Thisdescription should be read to include one or at least one and thesingular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meantotherwise.

Upon reading this disclosure, those of skill in the art will appreciatestill additional alternative structural and functional designs throughthe principles disclosed herein. Thus, while particular embodiments andapplications have been illustrated and described, it is to be understoodthat the disclosed embodiments are not limited to the preciseconstruction and components disclosed herein. Various modifications,changes and variations, which will be apparent to those skilled in theart, may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of themethods and systems disclosed herein without departing from the spiritand scope defined in the appended claims. Finally, the patent claims atthe end of this patent application are not intended to be construedunder 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) unless traditional means-plus-function languageis expressly recited, such as “means for” or “step for” language beingexplicitly recited in the claim(s).

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method of vehicle theftprevention or mitigation, the method comprising: collecting, by one ormore processors of (i) a vehicle controller or (ii) one or more remoteservers, driver-related data associated with one or more authorizeddrivers of a vehicle; building, by the one or more processors, adatabase associated with the authorized drivers of the vehicle and basedupon the collected driver-related data; collecting, by the one or moreprocessors, current driver-related data associated with an individualcurrently driving, attempting to start, or sitting in a seat of thevehicle; determining, by the one or more processors and using both thedatabase and the current driver-related data, that the individualcurrently driving, attempting to start, or sitting in a seat of thevehicle is not among the authorized drivers of the vehicle; verifying,by the one or more processors, that the individual currently driving,attempting to start, or sitting in a seat of the vehicle is sitting in adriver seat of the vehicle by (i) identifying a signal from a mobiledevice associated with the individual, (ii) determining a locationwithin the vehicle of the mobile device by triangulation using thesignal, and (iii) determining the location of the mobile device isassociated with the driver seat; and causing, by the one or moreprocessors, one or both of (i) operation of the vehicle to be disabledor (ii) operation of the vehicle to be prevented.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining that theindividual currently driving, attempting to start, or sitting in a seatof the vehicle is not among the authorized drivers of the vehicleincludes: comparing electronic signatures or signals of mobile devicesof the authorized drivers with an unknown electronic signature or signalof the mobile device associated with the individual currently driving,attempting to start, or sitting in a seat of the vehicle; anddetermining that the unknown electronic signature or signal does notmatch any of the electronic signatures or signals of the mobile devicesof the authorized drivers.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim1, wherein determining that the individual currently driving, attemptingto start, or sitting in a seat of the vehicle is not among theauthorized drivers of the vehicle further includes: comparing a visualimage or a weight of the individual currently driving, attempting tostart, or sitting in a seat of the vehicle with one or more visualimages or weights of the authorized drivers; and determining that thevisual image or the weight of the individual currently driving,attempting to start, or sitting in a seat of the vehicle does not matchany of the one or more visual images or weights of the authorizeddrivers.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein causingoperation of the vehicle to be prevented includes preventing the vehiclefrom starting.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, whereincausing operation of the vehicle to be disabled includes controlling thevehicle to slow, stop at a side of a road, and shut down.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is coveredby an insurance policy issued by an insurance provider associated withthe one or more remote servers and the authorized drivers are driversauthorized under the insurance policy.
 7. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein collecting the driver-related data includescollecting data generated by one or more mobile devices.
 8. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein collecting thedriver-related data includes collecting data associated with one or moreof the following: (i) a vehicle other than the vehicle, (ii)vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or (iii) roadside equipment orinfrastructure.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, themethod further comprising: upon determining that the individualcurrently driving, attempting to start, or sitting in a seat of thevehicle is not among the authorized drivers: generating a messageindicating presence of the individual; and transmitting the message toone or more of the following to facilitate vehicle recapture or safety:a mobile device of one of the authorized drivers or a computing deviceassociated with a law enforcement agency.
 10. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, the method further comprising one or both of:tracking a plurality of GPS locations of the vehicle; and transmitting apresent GPS location of the plurality of GPS locations of the vehicle toone or more of the following: a mobile device of one of the authorizeddrivers or a third party remote server.
 11. A system for vehicle theftprevention or mitigation, the system comprising: one or more processors;and one or more memories storing executable instructions that, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processorsto: collect driver-related data associated with one or more authorizeddrivers of a vehicle; build, based upon the collected driver-relateddata, a database associated with the authorized drivers of the vehicleand based upon the collected driver-related data; collect currentdriver-related data associated with an individual currently driving,attempting to start, or sitting in a seat of the vehicle; determine,using both the database and the current driver-related data, that theindividual currently driving, attempting to start, or sitting in a seatof the vehicle is not among the authorized drivers of the vehicle;verify that the individual currently driving, attempting to start, orsitting in a seat of the vehicle is sitting in a driver seat of thevehicle by (i) identifying a signal from a mobile device associated withthe individual, (ii) determining a location within the vehicle of themobile device by triangulation using the signal, and (iii) determiningthe location of the mobile device is associated with the driver seat;and cause one or both of (i) operation of the vehicle to be disabled or(ii) operation of the vehicle to be prevented.
 12. The system of claim11, wherein the executable instructions that cause the computer systemto determine that the individual currently driving, attempting to start,or sitting in a seat of the vehicle is not among the authorized driversof the vehicle further cause the computer system to: compare electronicsignatures or signals of mobile devices of the authorized drivers withan unknown electronic signature or signal of the mobile deviceassociated with the individual currently driving, attempting to start,or sitting in a seat of the vehicle; and determine that the unknownelectronic signature or signal does not match any of the electronicsignatures or signals of the mobile devices of the authorized drivers.13. The system of claim 11, wherein the executable instructions thatcause the computer system to determine that the individual currentlydriving, attempting to start, or sitting in a seat of the vehicle is notamong the authorized drivers of the vehicle further cause the computersystem to: compare a visual image or a weight of the individualcurrently driving, attempting to start, or sitting in a seat of thevehicle with one or more visual images or weights of the authorizeddrivers; and determine that the visual image or the weight of theindividual currently driving, attempting to start, or sitting in a seatof the vehicle does not match any of the one or more visual images orweights of the authorized drivers.
 14. The system of claim 11, whereinthe executable instructions that cause the computer system to cause oneor both of (i) operation of the vehicle to be disabled or (ii) operationof the vehicle to be prevented further cause the computer system to (i)prevent the vehicle from starting or (ii) control the vehicle to slow,stop at a side of a road, and shut down.
 15. The system of claim 11,wherein the vehicle is covered by an insurance policy issued by aninsurance provider associated with the computer system and theauthorized drivers are drivers authorized under the insurance policy.16. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium storingexecutable instructions for vehicle theft prevention or mitigation that,when executed by one or more processors of a computer system, cause thecomputer system to: collect driver-related data associated with one ormore authorized drivers of a vehicle; build, based upon the collecteddriver-related data, a database associated with the authorized driversof the vehicle and based upon the collected driver-related data; collectcurrent driver-related data associated with an individual currentlydriving, attempting to start, or sitting in a seat of the vehicle;determine, using both the database and the current driver-related data,that the individual currently driving, attempting to start, or sittingin a seat of the vehicle is not among the authorized drivers of thevehicle; verify that the individual currently driving, attempting tostart, or sitting in a seat of the vehicle is sitting in a driver seatof the vehicle by (i) identifying a signal from a mobile deviceassociated with the individual, (ii) determining a location within thevehicle of the mobile device by triangulation using the signal, and(iii) determining the location of the mobile device is associated withthe driver seat; and cause one or both of (i) operation of the vehicleto be disabled or (ii) operation of the vehicle to be prevented.
 17. Thetangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, whereinthe executable instructions that cause the computer system to determinethat the individual currently driving, attempting to start, or sittingin a seat of the vehicle is not among the authorized drivers of thevehicle further cause the computer system to: compare electronicsignatures or signals of mobile devices of the authorized drivers withan unknown electronic signature or signal of the mobile deviceassociated with the individual currently driving, attempting to start,or sitting in a seat of the vehicle; and determine that the unknownelectronic signature or signal does not match any of the electronicsignatures or signals of the mobile devices of the authorized drivers.18. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16,wherein the executable instructions that cause the computer system todetermine that the individual currently driving, attempting to start, orsitting in a seat of the vehicle is not among the authorized drivers ofthe vehicle further cause the computer system to: compare a visual imageor a weight of the individual currently driving, attempting to start, orsitting in a seat of the vehicle with one or more visual images orweights of the authorized drivers; and determine that the visual imageor the weight of the individual currently driving, attempting to start,or sitting in a seat of the vehicle does not match any of the one ormore visual images or weights of the authorized drivers.
 19. Thetangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, whereinthe executable instructions that cause the computer system to cause oneor both of (i) operation of the vehicle to be disabled or (ii) operationof the vehicle to be prevented further cause the computer system to (i)prevent the vehicle from starting or (ii) control the vehicle to slow,stop at a side of a road, and shut down.
 20. The tangible,non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the vehicleis covered by an insurance policy issued by an insurance providerassociated with the computer system and the authorized drivers aredrivers authorized under the insurance policy.